Giant Octopodes
Well-known member
The latest strategy to try to diminish Tom Brady is to talk about how wins, championships, and so forth, aren't "individual stats", they're "team stats". The argument is typically used when talking about how you should pay more attention to yards, completions, touchdowns, whatever.
Frankly it's so moronic and disingenuous it pisses me off, so I'm going to rant for a bit.
[Rant]
Let's look at the most classic example of a "individual stat", the Touchdown pass. I've checked, only two times in NFL history has a QB thrown a touchdown pass to himself- Marcus Mariota in 2018 and Brad Johnson in 1997. So setting those two aside for a moment, at minimum there are two people involved in the play, the QB and the eligible receiver. However, in order for the pass play to be successful, the QB needs to be upright to make it. That requires an offensive line. On top of that, the coverage needs to be right. Which requires the other eligible receivers to be running their routes.
All of those elements coming together successfully requires you have someone planning and implementing a strategy, the offensive coordinator. As well as the strategy existing, in order to be successfully implemented, the players need to be coached up to properly execute their role, which requires the QB coach, wide receivers coach, offensive line coach, and so forth.
All of this is required because there's players on the other side trying to prevent this from happening. It's not just about your QB and receiver, it's your receivers vs their cornerbacks and safeties, your offensive line vs their defensive line, your offensive coordinator vs their defensive coordinator, and so on and so forth. All being overseen by your head coach vs their head coach.
In short, it's your 11 players plus supporting staff, or TEAM, outperforming and out executing their 11 players plus supporting staff, or TEAM. There is no action which occurs on the football field which occurs in a vacuum. Not running backs getting rushing yardage, not field goals, and Certainly not passing yards, or touchdowns, or what have you. ALL stats are reflective of what your TEAM was able to accomplish while you were playing, and of the outcome of plays which occurred while you were involved.
This is just as true of Touchdowns as it is Wins. A QB is not wholly responsible for a Win or a Loss, that is true. They are also not wholly responsible for a Touchdown or an Int. And simultaneously, they are responsible for contributing towards and participating in a win or loss, just as they are responsible for contributing towards and participating in a touchdown or an interception. There's no meaningful reason to separate out discussions of one vs the other, other than to try to bolster a weak and pathetic argument which can't survive the harsh light of reality.
I'm sorry if that is harsh and jarring to the fans who live in Fantasy Land where they think Stafford is a good QB, whom wish to preserve the reputation of their Fantasy QB. But at the end of the day winning or losing matters, and QBs don't get to abdicate their role in it even if they want to, any more than they get to abdicate their role in Ints or TDs.
[/Rant]
Frankly it's so moronic and disingenuous it pisses me off, so I'm going to rant for a bit.
[Rant]
Let's look at the most classic example of a "individual stat", the Touchdown pass. I've checked, only two times in NFL history has a QB thrown a touchdown pass to himself- Marcus Mariota in 2018 and Brad Johnson in 1997. So setting those two aside for a moment, at minimum there are two people involved in the play, the QB and the eligible receiver. However, in order for the pass play to be successful, the QB needs to be upright to make it. That requires an offensive line. On top of that, the coverage needs to be right. Which requires the other eligible receivers to be running their routes.
All of those elements coming together successfully requires you have someone planning and implementing a strategy, the offensive coordinator. As well as the strategy existing, in order to be successfully implemented, the players need to be coached up to properly execute their role, which requires the QB coach, wide receivers coach, offensive line coach, and so forth.
All of this is required because there's players on the other side trying to prevent this from happening. It's not just about your QB and receiver, it's your receivers vs their cornerbacks and safeties, your offensive line vs their defensive line, your offensive coordinator vs their defensive coordinator, and so on and so forth. All being overseen by your head coach vs their head coach.
In short, it's your 11 players plus supporting staff, or TEAM, outperforming and out executing their 11 players plus supporting staff, or TEAM. There is no action which occurs on the football field which occurs in a vacuum. Not running backs getting rushing yardage, not field goals, and Certainly not passing yards, or touchdowns, or what have you. ALL stats are reflective of what your TEAM was able to accomplish while you were playing, and of the outcome of plays which occurred while you were involved.
This is just as true of Touchdowns as it is Wins. A QB is not wholly responsible for a Win or a Loss, that is true. They are also not wholly responsible for a Touchdown or an Int. And simultaneously, they are responsible for contributing towards and participating in a win or loss, just as they are responsible for contributing towards and participating in a touchdown or an interception. There's no meaningful reason to separate out discussions of one vs the other, other than to try to bolster a weak and pathetic argument which can't survive the harsh light of reality.
I'm sorry if that is harsh and jarring to the fans who live in Fantasy Land where they think Stafford is a good QB, whom wish to preserve the reputation of their Fantasy QB. But at the end of the day winning or losing matters, and QBs don't get to abdicate their role in it even if they want to, any more than they get to abdicate their role in Ints or TDs.
[/Rant]
:tmack:
Ari Fararooy <a href="https://t.co/sXep0qKLXI">pic.twitter.com/sXep0qKLXI</a></p>— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBrady/status/1159495472899403776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
